Digitalization Needs Agric & Agric Needs Appropriate and Innovative Digital Systems— Agrihouse Foundation Director

Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa has stressed on the need for more collaborations between the agricultural sector and digital corporations.

She said the agricultural sector, being the backbone of Ghana’s economy has a lot to offer, and yet it is unfortunately excluded from many digitization frameworks and initiatives developed in the country.

She said it is time for the two important sectors to start working hand in hand to invest in tailored-made technologies and innovations that can meet the needs of all the different areas of the agric value chain.

“The agric sector needs the digital age; and the digital age needs the agric sector,” Ms. Akosa emphasized yesterday at a Workshop TIPS TNK, organized by digital firm, TransNumerik, in collaboration with Microsoft, in Accra, on the theme, “Unlocking Productivity and Collaboration in the Digital Era.”

She said Agrihouse Foundation is open to collaborating with IT Firms in the country, to share data and develop technological ideas that can support the growth and productivity of the country’s agricultural sector.

She said, over the years, Agrihouse Foundation has been productive in collaborating with a number of development partners and private institutions to build capacity of farmers on the relevance of using simple digital Innovations in their daily business activities.

To this end, Agrihouse Foundation, has been able to make measurable impacts through the list of projects the Foundation implements. They include, the Agricultural Students Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogues Bootcamp (AG- STUD); Livestock Poultry & Fisheries Trade Show (LiPF); International Farmers and Agribusiness Resilience and Sustainability Convention (INTAFAC) Women in Food and Agricultural Leadership Forum (WOFAGRIC) and Gold in the Soil Awards; Annual Pre-Harvest Agribusiness Conference and Exhibitions; The Agrihouse Agri-Woman Market Place; Agri-Watch; 1 household, 1 Garden Initiative (1h,1g).

“Agrihouse Foundation has been able to support 27, out of the 150 beginner Agribusiness, who participated in the 4th edition of the Agricultural Students Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogue (AG-STUD BOOTCAMP), bootcamp to establish businesses using digital platforms that is contributing to market linkages and exposure of products and services,” she revealed in an interview.

Furthermore, the 3^rd Livestock Poultry & Fisheries Trade Show, the NGO organized this year, in collaboration with USDA GPP and ADB, introduced digital exhibitions via livestreaming on social media, and further packaged the training sessions in short videos, that were shared with beneficiaries.

Agrihouse Foundation continues to work with a number of development partners to drive best practices campaigns across selected districts through Community Radio listening Clubs; and supports women farmers to purchase inputs using their Momo payments transactions as financial statements.

This year, Agrihouse Foundation, through partnership worked with Yara Ghana to launch their weather App, the FarmGo, which has over 10,000 subscribers now.

“Agrihouse Foundation has also been able to develop strong data of value chain actors through our work with the students, beginner Agribusinesses and youth across the agric colleges and institutions. We have also been able to build data on women farmers and Agribusinesses small holder farmers, Aggregators, farmer based organizations, commercial farmers, buyers etc, through our interventional projects,” Ms. Akosa added.

It is equally important to highlight that Agrihouse Foundation has also worked with the Embassy of Canada, over the last 3 years, to travel across parts of the country to train women and build organic data, in the form of contact details and video documentary that shed light on the efforts of hundreds of Ghanaian Agri-women.

The ‘1household, 1garden’ initiative which the Foundation launched on social media at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, has now received support from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and is expected to be expanded to reach more households in other parts of the country.

“Internally, we are adjusting from the traditional ways of doing things to embracing more digital approaches. We believe if the agric sector is included in the digital transformation agenda ongoing in the country, a lot can be achieved in building resilience and sustainability in the sector,” Ms. Akosa said.

Other distinguished speakers at the event included the CEO of ADNM Group, Mr. Martin Turgeon; Managing Director of TransNumerik, Mr. Mody-Oury Barry; Territory Chanel Manager of Microsoft, Mr. Bazoumana Assante; Head of Joy Business, Mrs. Odelia Ntiamoah and CEO of Cleanearth Scientific Limited, Mr. Ekow Archer.

Mr. Martin Turgeon and Mr. Mody-Oury Barry, in their respective statements stressed on the need for a digital transformation in Africa; the progress being made in various sectors of the continent and how in some ways, the pandemic is helping to digitize the continent.

Mr. Assante in his presentation highlighted Microsoft work in Africa; the importance of data in the digital world the packages and services Microsoft has designed to meet the needs of corporations and institutions, in this respect.

In a panel discussion, aimed at exploring the theme of the event, the CEO’ shed light on how digitalization has influenced collaborations internally and externally in their organizations; and thus enhanced productivity.

They highlighted the role COVID-19 pandemic has played in some recent organizational decisions and choices they have to make, and the impacts of such decisions; the new opportunities and challenges they have uncovered as a result.

About TransNumerik

ADNM International and the African Consortium for Information Technology (CATI) have joined forces to create TransNumerik, a company specializing in cutting-edge technologies and adapted strategies. The creation of TransNumerik was designed to support African businesses towards their digital transformation.

TransNumerik plays an important role in serving the African market with both African and international expertise. The company is present in 3 regions of Africa: West Africa, East Africa, and Central Africa and also has offices in Canada.

The team bring together a pool of African experts specialized in ICT, who identify the challenges of all businesses, listen and guide clients to success; offering customized support in this technological transition, through innovative solutions and cloud tools according to the best practices of the market.